PART 3
I wanted every person in that room to remember exactly what they had witnessed.
Because witnesses mattered.
Especially when they had spent the evening pretending they saw nothing.
Isaac walked toward the nearest window.
“Open the gates.”
One of his security guards hurried outside.
A few seconds later, the guard returned.
His face was pale.
“Sir…”
“What?”
“The gates aren’t responding.”
Isaac’s expression hardened.
“Then call the security company.”
“I tried.”
“And?”
The guard swallowed.
“They aren’t answering.”
A murmur passed through the ballroom.
Isaac turned toward his father.
Arthur Vance had stopped eating.
His fork remained suspended above his plate.
“Dad?”
Arthur didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he stared through the glass doors toward the driveway.
Five black SUVs stood outside.
Their engines were still running.
Their headlights illuminated the entire front lawn.
Then the doors of the first SUV opened.
A tall man stepped out.
Black suit.
Black shirt.
No tie.
He didn’t hurry.
He didn’t need to.
Two other men stepped out behind him.
Then another.
Then another.
Five men.
Five brothers.
My brothers.
Noah.
Leo.
Julian.
Marcus.
Caleb.
Isaac had met them once, years ago, at our wedding.
He had spent less than ten minutes speaking to them before deciding they were arrogant criminals who thought they were better than everyone else.
He had never understood why they barely spoke to him.
He never understood why my brothers had looked at me rather than him when they left the wedding.
Now he understood.
Noah entered first.
The ballroom doors opened without anyone touching them.
He looked around.
His eyes passed over the guests.
The champagne.
The decorations.
The cake.
The broken glass.
Then his eyes found me.
Everything about his face changed.
“Flora.”
I tried to smile.
“Hi, Noah.”
He walked toward me.
He didn’t ask if I was all right.
He could see that I wasn’t.
Instead, he gently took my wrists and examined the marks.
His jaw tightened.
“Who did this?”
I looked across the room.
Noah followed my eyes.
They landed on Isaac.
Isaac tried to laugh.
“This is a family matter.”
Julian stepped forward.
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“This stopped being a family matter the moment you tied her to a beam in front of fifty people.”
Isaac scoffed.
“She embarrassed my wife—”
“Her?”
Leo interrupted.
“Interesting.”
Clover suddenly stepped backward.
Everyone looked at her.
Leo smiled.
Not warmly.
“So you’re Clover.”
Clover’s face lost its color.
Isaac immediately moved between them.
“Leave her out of this.”
Marcus laughed softly.
“That’s going to be difficult.”
He removed a tablet from a leather case.
“Because she seems to be connected to quite a few things.”
Clover stared at him.
“What are you talking about?”
Marcus tapped the screen.
“Eight months of hotel reservations.”
Clover’s mouth fell open.
“Private dinners.”
Another tap.
“Luxury gifts charged to Isaac’s accounts.”
Another.
“Messages.”
Another.
“Photographs.”
The ballroom became completely silent.
Isaac stared at the tablet.
“You hacked my accounts?”
Marcus looked almost offended.
“No.”
He smiled.
“You were simply careless.”
Arthur Vance stood abruptly.
“This is outrageous!”
Julian turned toward him.
“Mr. Vance.”
Arthur froze.
Julian’s expression remained calm.
“You’re the family attorney, correct?”
Arthur nodded cautiously.
“Then you should know better than anyone that tonight created a serious legal problem for your son.”
Isaac stepped forward.
“You’re threatening me?”
“No.”
Julian shook his head.
“I’m informing you.”
Isaac looked at me.
“You called them?”
I didn’t answer.
“You actually called your brothers?”
Still nothing.
His face reddened.
“You think they can scare me?”
I finally looked directly into his eyes.
“No.”
Isaac smiled.
For one brief second, he thought he had won.
Then I finished my sentence.
“I think they’re going to show you the difference between fear and consequences.”
His smile disappeared.
Wendy suddenly stepped forward.
“You ungrateful little—”
Noah turned his head.
“Don’t.”
One word.
Wendy stopped.
Noah’s voice remained controlled.
“You’ve already said enough tonight.”
Wendy looked around the room desperately.
“Arthur!”
Her husband wasn’t looking at her.
He was staring at Marcus’s tablet.
Because Marcus had opened another file.
A financial statement.
Arthur’s face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
Marcus looked at him.
“You should ask yourself why we have it.”
Arthur approached.
“What is this?”
“Your offshore transfers.”
Arthur stopped breathing for a moment.
Marcus continued.
“Three shell companies.”
He swiped.
“Seven undisclosed accounts.”
Another swipe.
